🏀 KuBuckets Archive

I know I harp on our team (and past teams) not coming pumped and prepared for games... but it must be a lot tougher to coach your players into coming ready for games than it looks. Seems like most D1 teams have this issue. But they are only kids out there.

I find that one of the most-fascinating part of college basketball is all the shifts in momentum.

So while I say our team isn't usually pumped and ready for games... I compliment them on their overall toughness. We've been pretty good at maintaining a certain level of composure that keeps us a threat in games.

The biggest letdown was the Kentucky game.

@Jethro

You have a point. I've just always viewed him as a big who struggled with his feet.

Been a challenging year for Baylor. Hate to see players go down for any team. I don't see a Baylor repeat in March.

From Dave's perspective... it should value him to come back. That can be for at least one of two reasons: first, academics. Perhaps he completes grad school. Second... if there is a definite path for him to improve. That path would have to include Self believing it, too.

How can Dave take another year and improve his game considerably? As I've been saying all along... his biggest deficit is his feet. And to improve there, it won't be through basketball drills. It would come from intense dance.

Dave's feet almost cost us a victory today. It had to be shown by putting Zach in, with his nimble feet, to guard the trey line from Groves continuing to burn us.

I don't think it is a good move for Dave to stick around in this program if neither of the two goals above aren't part of the equation.

I don't think Self thinks it is a good idea to have him around merely to give us depth at the 5. Self cares about his players and he isn't going to exploit Dave like that.

Just my opinion.

So it's February 9... and Remy still seems off in the distant future. At a certain point, even if he comes back, just how much can we see him help our team? He definitely seems like a better personal offensive threat than Joseph... but we weren't focused on him getting shots before he went down. It seems like we've got adequate firepower now.

March is just a few weeks away. And it doesn't sound like Remy will be back this week, or probably next week. I don't expect he will ever dribble a KU basketball at 100%.

I hope Joseph continues to get reasonable minutes because he looks like a very important piece to our puzzle moving forward. We should still expect his play to improve because more play gets him into the offensive/defensive stream.

Texas assessment:

Good -

1. We brought a decent level of toughness.

2. Jalen let us know he is definitely back.

3. Big Mac also played a good game.

4. Joseph still on an uptick.

Bad -

1. Our defense let up considerably from the Baylor game.

2. Free throw shooting % down... costly.

3. Didn't close out the game well.

4. First half too many TOs.

This game could have been worse. I still see an overall uptick in our team performance in key areas on both sides of the ball.

We can point to individual areas but if the same team showed up in this game that showed up in the Baylor game, we would have enjoyed a similar outcome... a Texas beatdown!

The team that hustles most wins.

The Baylor smash showed what our success looks like.

It's about bringing hustle and a smile. Everything else fell into place. And when they don't bring this to the game, everything else gets exposed and we focus on all that other stuff when it really came down to just bringing energy to the game.

I'm done. RCJH!

You can't be too deep in thought and expect to play well. "Think and react" translates to "slow and stiff." He has to learn to bypass that part of the mind. Use his mind on the court only to stimulate an immediate response. He'll play faster, be loose, and achieve his potential if he can do this. I suggest he learn to meditate and then first apply it at practice. Once he figures it out, bring it to a game. He can get himself in an altered state that limits his brain function and helps him focus on play.

I like the idea of Jalen taking minutes at the 5 if we utilize what he can do at that position. His weakness is body size and defense. Patch together some weakside help, but know he may be burned. Just teach him not to low post foul.

Then what he should be doing is testing his hotness from trey. Get the opposing big out of the box and open up the lane for all of our guys to drive, including Jalen.... and hopefully Jalen burns down some treys, too!

Our best speed at dribbling up the court is Jalen. He rebounds... he should drive down, get ahead of their big, either take it to the hole or feed for a trey shot.

For much of this season, I think most of us have been unhappy with the pace of games. We haven't controlled tempo and we pay the price. We controlled the tempo at ISU and we owned them. So we need to speed up without playing sped up.

Combining Jalen at the 5 and Joe out there... we should be a fast team pushing a full-court offense.

You all know I support a horizontal game more than a vertical game. I'll take Big Dave in the post when he's performing. But when he's not this is the time Self needs a short-chain.

@BeddieKU23

Your post shows how important Dave is to this team and how his play impacts absolutely everything!

At the beginning of this year I thought it likely that halfway into the year someone would come out of the blue and become a big contributor. Sometimes I thought it would be KJ. Sometimes Bobby. I'm high on Joe the most now to be that guy.

If Bobby was healthy we would have him and Joe being true "X axis" players... playing out there in 3d space!

Remy is close... just not quite at that level. Maybe his knee problem is just showing.

Dajuan has some speed, but is more about controlled motion, passing, etc.

I think we need a speedster like Joe out there for a big chunk of games. He keeps the pace moving and it is the only way to get to the tempo we need to run at. That control of tempo also helps our defense... bigly!

@benshawks08

I like that idea of resting those guys some. They not only get winded... but sometimes they just need to sit and watch a little of the game and have a reset!

I mention both of these guys taking time off during games. They are probably exhausted and they don't get time for a reset. No time to think about what they can do differently to be more effective. And they should be getting some coaching on the bench. This seems to almost be a thing of the past in D1 and I don't know why. Players used to receive instructions while sitting, not just at timeouts in the huddle.

Many of us have played organized basketball in here. I don't know about the rest of you... but I always appreciated being coached on the bench.

The game has to be coached more than just timeouts and halftime in the locker room!

@Kcmatt7

I think I'd keep Bobby like he is.. just flash him a few minutes now and then to eliminate total rust. He's not at 100%. But good chance he is a big part of our future after this year.

I think the main point (and question) of my post... how come we can look better when our All-American isn't available for a game?

I'd like to hear people chime in on that!

Personally, I think having him out made everyone step up. DMac definitely brought more energy. CB had some good moments where he stood out. Dajuan definitely was more aggressive looking to score (he tied for high score with 14). And Jalen became more aggressive the second half.

I'm definitely PRO OCH! Just trying to figure out why this team isn't reaching NEAR THEIR POTENTIAL! I think we are one of the most underperforming teams in America. Maybe we rely too much on Och as a team? I watch Och carefully and noticed he is bringing more effort throughout games now. He used to take big gaps of time off while on the floor. So are some of our guys just dumping their weight on Och's back?

Jaybate and I used to always talk about Meso ball. Teams would be sacrificed once they came off the court. I wonder how this team would play if their lives were on the line? The closer we play to that standard is probably the best measuring stick for hustle. I think we are a long ways away from playing Meso ball!

Dilemma... what to do with PT? There were moments last night where we looked a lot better than in games we had Och. I'm not 100% sure we win this game if Och had been there. Not a slam on Och. He deserves All-American status! But the game is more than his 20 ppg. Joseph brought energy... tempo... something we have been deeply lacking!

Look what we overcame in this game! 22 TOs! It's typical we have high TOs at ISU... but this game was never really out of our control. I think Joseph's energy helped our team in many ways. We pushed the ball quicker on offense. Even though we played a little too sped up at places (high TOs) but we did enough to outscore ISU. Joseph's energy was also felt on the defensive end. We still had some bad spots but overall we played better defense (which says a lot).

Do we cut Dajuan's minutes? That's a tough one. I think we all see where he's coming up short. But he is guiding the ship. With all his minutes he is bound to continue to improve. The kid has improved considerably since arriving in Lawrence and he's even shown improvement this season.

So did everyone play better because Joseph was out there? I think we have to realize they all felt under the gun after their no-show against UK, and knowing Och was out. They knew they all had to step up. But no denying the ball didn't stick and that helped. We controlled tempo in this game and that made a huge difference!

@kuballin10

We've had huge debates in here about that over the years. And also how some players get yanked with one mistake, other players goof constantly and don't get pulled.

I'm thinking back to some huge battles in here... RIP HEM!

Did you catch any of his posts? You might qualify as our next HEM in here. Someone who dare challenge the common thought in here. We need that friction in here! Keep posting!

@kuballin10

I've delivered a few lumps to you coming in here with some big ideas... but I'm glad you are stirring the pot in here. We all need fresh ideas. Overall, I'm a big Self fan for many reasons... not all his coaching on the floor. But I have a critical side, too.

I'm not sure the right direction with Remy. Self's approach is defense first. And... if he lets everything go by him we will never have the potential to defend because defense is a team sport. One bad defender kind of blows it for everyone.

There are a lot of dynamics involved when bringing in a new guy and thinking you can just hand the keys to team over to him. I'm yet to see an example anywhere where the guy coming in didn't have to earn cred first.

I am seeing some of your argument on how Remy has been coached here... but I still don't think it's that simple. None of us in here are on the team and know how practice goes and how the guys connect exactly on the court and off.

I'm curious... you just showed up in here. Might you consider giving us all a proper intro. You don't need to post your real name. But how about some bio info... where did you grow up... experience with the game... etc. Let's make this a little more personal and not all Xs and Os. I'm curious if you are from the Midwest. Just my opinion here... but I think part of Self's popularity is his Midwest mannerism. He talks in Midwest sentences and thoughts. I am from this area so I understand him easily.

I grew up here but visited Southern California in my youth summers... and I was all about UCLA and Wooden. I got a good taste of Wooden's approach. Teaching players how to tie their hightops (back when you laced them up), etc. etc. Walton shows up to practice in his pajamas. I venture to say that Self wouldn't appreciate a gag like that and someone would buy a lot of pine for pulling a stunt like that around him.

What I'm getting at is... give us some background on yourself and lets put the dots together.

Thanks...

Wow... that was ugly! We weren't a Top 20 team tonight. UK is a decent team but we made them look like superstars.

I'm not going to say we are a bad defensive team because that lets our guys off the hook. They are capable of playing decent defense... but they didn't do it tonight. So they should take the blame. And though KSU isn't a great team... we managed a huge comeback on their court and that didn't happen without defense. I do agree with @Texas-Hawk-10... we don't stand up well against more athletic teams. It just seems like we give up. That's what I saw tonight. That is why it was ugly. I've seen KU fight and lose to hot teams... but this was such a cakewalk for UK. Looked effortless. We never made them struggle at all. Even Bilis mentioned it at one point, when he wasn't complaining about the refs.

Sometimes it just looks like we are boys and we get beat when we play men. Let's spike the watercooler with testosterone... see if that helps! lol

This should be a very entertaining game! I like our chances!

He sure looks like the clean cut kid I bet he is. I do think he's starting to look manly... and that isn't from adding a few muscles. His chin line is refining.

Melo.. Melo... Melooooo...

And then Embiid steps in.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nba/lakers/2022/01/27/carmelo-anthony-lakers-sixers-fan-incident/9250337002/ ↗

We are the college version of the KC Chiefs. We don't know if our defense will show up, and usually it doesn't matter because we just need the last 13 seconds to go our way! BTW: I'm not bragging about this. I've learned.. being this kind of team eventually catches up to you. Hope I'm wrong about us and the Chiefs! GO Chiefs!

Never thought I would give Cal a compliment... but he has found a way to utilize Oscar much better than Huggy Bear did. I was always shocked why Oscar wasn't performing day in and day out like he does now when he was at WVU. I wonder what the WVU blog says about Oscar now! Maybe he just needed to play for an elite program and feel elite.

I expect this game will be won through two key factors: who controls pace and possessions. Oscar is going to get his rebounds... no stopping that, but can we still win the glass as a team effort? The key for us is people like CB go in there and get his 5 or 6 boards. Same for others. Chai needs to grab 5 or 6. And our secret weapon for this game needs to be Jalen.. especially on the glass! He can easily be the guy that flips the stat sheet to a Kansas victory on the glass! To be honest... the matchup I want to see in the paint is Oscar vs KJ!

This is a game our team needs to value possessions. It is downright pathetic when we have high TOs on our home court, especially if we play a lot of minutes with two PGs. I don't usually get on Dajuan's ass.. but he needs to be sharp in this game and limit his TOs.. same for others. And when we make steals.. we need runouts! Push tempo!

A requiem for the late, great Marcus Garrett...

Bryson goes for 33. Pack goes for 35. Two very different players... different size... different skill set. BOTH would have been limited if Marcus was still on this team!

@benshawks08

Well stated! I can tell you've been through it. And we also honor those lost by keeping them in our consciousness and with their impact upon us.

Struggle can be a great motivator to higher places. Thank you for using the right words here!

@benshawks08

I feel weird talking about a man's death being used to motivate a team... but I will accept it if it comes our way.

This has all made me journey back to the TRob days... and how his situation helped our team come together and fight. That team completely overachieved!

@BeddieKU23

I liked how we pushed tempo. Just wish we had schemed more ways to score on secondary breaks. We pushed the ball up court then often fell back into a long shot clock possession.

We controlled more of the tempo, too, because they don't have a PG. This team would be deadly if they had that. You can bet they'll bring in a PG next year.

I feel like we are mimicking the Chiefs... soft defense but the ability to get points when we need them. Outrunning teams on points. Yes... we only need 13 seconds to score!

@jayballer67

@benshawks08

Ooops... I screwed up... got it fixed now. I'm so used to kissing my customers' butts... lol

I hope we don't let down after that huge amp-up at KSU. I wondered if it also might have had something to do with Bill losing his dad. If we scrap like we did on Saturday tonight... TT is doomed!

It's hard to beat us twice in this league. I would think we come amped and ready to kick some Red Raider butt tonight!

Okay. I have a big smile on my face after that game last night.

Our performance was a mixed bag.

The positives were huge and shows us clearly that this team can be tough when it wants to be! We showed mental toughness. We never gave up. We never really lost our poise. We stuck to our plan, and eventually it paid off! We also showed some physical toughness. I don't think I've seen a Bill Self team fight this hard on the glass... especially on the offensive glass. We won't lose many games ahead if we keep this aggressiveness. Och... a guy who I've been critical about for not playing hard for 40 minutes... played hard for 40 minutes!

Now... what went wrong in this game? How did we let a team less talented than us almost run us out of the gym? One simple topic... we got SMOKED BY THE "BLOW BY!" I've never seen a Bill Self team get beat this bad off the dribble. I wish someone would watch the game again and count how many times they blew by us. It was so much of their offense (no, I'm not forgetting the treys) and if we had done a better job shutting this down all game, we would have blown the kitties out of the gym! We did a better job in the second half and that allowed us to overcome the monster deficit.

So we leaked horribly on defense for most of the game and made it an almost impossible hurdle towards a win... then we battled like beasts to come back and win!

I tip my hat to this entire team for coming back from such a deficit! And a special tip to Och for staying engaged in this game and stepping up at the end, too!

My condolences to Bill and his family. His father was a strong figure and no doubt shaped Bill and his coaching. I'm sure his loss will also impact Bill as his life moves forward. I went through this last summer and it had a profound impact on me and my life since then. Perspective grows and priorities change.

@Kcmatt7

I don't think Self wants to slow it down. I think he realizes that our half-court offense is sputtering in league play so anything we can get on a run-out is positive!

Defense is something we can bring every night if we finally get players to buy in. Offense is going to be hit and miss.

So what happens if we continue to lead the league in offense and we lift our defense to being close to the top?

Anyways, I think it is easier to teach defense than offense.

"“Embrace ugly games, grimy games,” Self said explaining his general philosophy on how to attack the Big 12 this season. “I don’t think we did a great job of that (vs. OU) but we did a good enough job.”" ~ KUSports.com

BAD BALL is officially back!

Or is it?

Most of us in here remember those days. Games in the 50s and 60s. Ugly basketball. Basketball hard to watch and feel good about, even when we win.

For decades now... I listened to a rule that was put out there by someone. "KU rarely wins when they don't score 70 points!" How many of you have heard this statement? I've heard it from many, including people that are hardly even fans of college basketball or KU.

In our loss to TT we only had 67 points. So that game holds water on this old "golden rule."

But our win at OU only garnered 67 points. Our home win against ISU was achieved with only 62 points.

What does this point to? Our point totals look like they are headed down towards BAD BALL territory. We do know we can win games and even league championships with BAD BALL. The key (drum roll) is our defense!

So how is our defense holding up in league play? To date, we are only giving up 64.4 points on average. 3 of our 5 games have been away.

It is my belief... from this day forward this season... we focus on defense. Our offense looks inconsistent. Obviously, we have to look for points whenever they are possible. But the road to gold in this league this year is to value defense and possessions. That means focus on rebounds and taking care of the ball. That means two of our best BAD BALL players should be Jalen and Dajuan. I'm thinking many in here don't want to hear that. And I only believe it to a point. CB has a good point average (we need points) and a good rebounder. Och... well... someone has to put up consistent points and also be our "go to" guy down the stretch. Where does that leave Big Mac? I would say... his value moving forward will largely be about his defense protection in the post and rebounding. When he has mismatches and can score... that is the cherry on top.

For us to be successful winning the league with BAD BALL we are going to have to get a lot tougher. That means we have to be at the FT line a heck of a lot more because we don't shy away from contact. Might also mean that we go deeper into our bench because we foul more. It also means we have to fight a lot harder for 50/50 balls!

Where does Remy fit into all of this? He came to Kansas not used to playing tough defense. We seen him soft. We've seen Self dissatisfied. Is he healthy now? I think Remy is still a very good investment for earning solid PT. He brings energy into the game, and our guys need energy to slug our way through BAD BALL. He still has some defensive weaknesses... but he is putting in more effort with team defense and stealing balls. He is starting to bear down a little harder and will continue to tighten his defensive play.

While most KU fans were excited for this year because of our potential firepower... I envisioned this team could become a very solid defensive team, even without Marcus at point. I've listened to plenty of naysayers with this team and their defense. And I've definitely watched us play some very soft defense. But I do see the screws tightening and it can't happen at a better time!

Is it possible we could win-out in league if we can maintain 70 ppg? I'm not going to focus on that. I'm jumping on the Bill Self wagon and cheering us on as we survive BAD BALL and hopefully bring back the league title to Kansas!

STATISTICS:

According to the conference stats... we are at the top in offense and the bottom at defense. Does it still work that we focus on defense? Yes. Especially if you believe the road to a conference title isn't just through Lawrence anymore... it is from winning on the road! Stats don't tell us everything. I bet we run more possessions per game than most teams in our league.

@Marco

I call Wilson our "junkyard dog." He is going to save us many times this year. Rebounding is about scrapping for the ball, and Jalen goes into battle.

If I made a toughness list.... I'd have Jalen and CB at the top. I thought Dajuan would be there, too, but he's been backing off a bit lately.

Och is such a stud. I wish we used him like a heavy volume scorer. Give him clear outs.. plays... screens... Run our offense through him most plays instead of the low post. Then he either takes the shot or feeds the assist. Corrupt other teams' defenses by making them focus on Och. He gets decent #s now because teams don't overplay him. We should want the overplay because then it opens up scoring for CB, Jalen, Remy and Big Mac.

This is one area new to Self. I don't think he has ever built offense around a heavy volume scorer. He is so focused on hi/lo and team offense spread around.

Maybe I overvalue Och's skills. I sometimes question his handles. He does have a step back move for shooting space... but not so much a shake-n-bake or killer crossover or swivel. I have to admit, I'm kind of late to the Och NBA party. I always thought he might go... but now I see some of the potential others see. If he stays healthy I think he will have an illustrious NBA career. All what I mentioned above will be developed over the next couple of years. His shot is already a work of art.

@Marco said in Some Post OU Musings:

@drgnslayr so what do you think the answer is, if any? Serious question.

I don't know. I've always mentioned "chip"... but I don't know today and the youth and what it takes. I believe Bill wants to win and his record shows he's done a pretty good job of that at Kansas. I know he sees the softness and is not happy about it. In my day we were screamed at, humiliated, ran laps, even cleaned toilets. I don't think that works today, and kids will leave after the year and go somewhere else.

This is a very talented team but may be our softest team in the Bill Self era. I feel like we are fortunate to have as many wins as we have. We have been very fortunate though I think with our current softness we can't expect to keep piling up so many wins.

I always want us to win conference. These close games count as a "W" just like the blowouts. So hooray for that!

But this soft play will doom us in March. It spells early exit to a team that is ready to bleed on the court.

@Crimsonorblue22

I saw his night off come up before the wrist wreck. When Big Mac was on the floor with a loose ball and Och just stood there, not trying to go near him so he could feed the ball off the floor.

Then there was the other loose ball when 3 Jayhawks surrounded the OU player who was on the floor and no one went after him down on the ball. He was able to call timeout. You can bet Self is going to use that tape and chew some ass. He should.

We only shot 6 FTs in this game, 2 came as an intentional foul on CB in the closing seconds. That says everything. We didn't want to play with any level of physicality in this game.

Our guys should be ashamed of this game. Period.

@BShark

It speaks volumes when during most of this game our best scoring option was Mitch in the block.

I have to hand it to Self... how does he get these guys to focus well enough to run the play to CB at the end? Except for a small stretch when we decided to play ball in this game, the rest was "deer in the headlights" nights for the entire team, except maybe JWil.

I don't know how this team can stop having non-show-up nights like this in March. Hope it isn't one of those years we check out against a Bucknell.

Och - wake up, man! Your draft stock is slipping!

Remy - just trying a little too hard to make up for lost games. Showed some spark. He'll be back contributing before we know it!

At least we won...

I think the Remy chatter is 100% nonsense! Let's let this kid do his thing... get healthy... come back... and kick some ass! He has such a great energy... so needed by this team. Hard to say exactly how he will fit in, especially if he is out for long... but he will find a way to contribute and it will be well needed!

I still hope Remy recovers and finds a way to help this team. I do think what we showed yesterday was that we have enough skilled players on this team to mold into whatever we need to be. Joseph was huge! KJ brought more energy, too!

What really made the difference for us in this game was our defense. We put more pressure on the ball and it translated into stops and more offense.

I still think we have another gear we are capable of. That next gear makes us a title contender!

We have the pieces to win this whole thing. We also have the pieces to fall flat on our faces. It's up to this team to step up and bring high energy to games! We actually looked like we were having fun in that second half!

I hope we build on this instead of going back to nap status.

GO HAWKS!

Late addition:

1 1. Joseph adds a spark with his quickness allowing us to run fast through all 40 minutes!

CRIMSON/BLUE GLASSES ON:

Okay... I've been offering up doom and gloom. Here is my best attempt at a bright, sunny season!

Many great things happen as we go on a winning streak and do not lose anymore games this year. On to the National Title!

1. Remy gets his health back and comes on big to lead this team! He takes a few more shots and lifts his stat line, making teams honest and forced to guard him out high.

2. JalenW goes on a scoring spree! Next game he gets hot and decides he belongs near the top of our stat sheet in points, while silently dominating the boards, too.

3. Dajuan tightens up his game.. takes more open shots and finishes at the rim when it is there. He improves his assist/TO ratio by cutting down on mistakes while being a better playmaker.

4. Big D gets it together and becomes Mr. C (consistency) for this team by averaging near a double-double every game while steadily improving his defense.

5. Och finally realizes his need to become a true volume scorer. He figures out it takes more than just him creating his own offense so he stays late in practice with other teammates to develop more opportunities for him to score. He definitely yearns to get the ball at crunch time, and becomes a deadeye when given the chance.

6. CB makes the adjustment on offense as he now plays against tougher competition so he becomes the Superman he was early on in the season by challenging Och for scoring stats every game... 20+.

7. KJ and Mitch step up their roles with the goal of consistency set down by Big D in the post. Suddenly we have depth, production, and consistency in the post!

8. Bobby comes on as the season progresses. His body heals and his speed increases! He makes the most of his minutes and gives us needed energy on the court. One of the pieces in helping this team speed up their game!

9. JaCol becomes comfortable in his role as assassin! Comes off the bench and averages 10 a game in limited minutes.

10. Quality team play finally arrives! Our D tightens up. Guys start guarding and weakside help is there. Players stop making mistakes on switches. Players seal off the boards. High energy on defense forces teams out of running their stuff (like TT does). On offense... guys start setting off-ball screens to help each other. 1 thru 4 drives the ball. Our post player mixes it up from running a little back to the basket offense to popping out for high ball screens. How about mid range screens? Everything runs well because we keep HIGH ENERGY throughout the game! The body language of our guys is very positive! Heads are up, smiles, high fives, encouraging each other... even our bench becomes totally animated as we kick the crap out of everyone!

Okay... lets make that happen!

@BShark said in Bill Self "growth stunter":

That’s why we saw KJ “start” while playing 10 minutes.

I think it is more about Self willing to try anything to get production out of the 5. He knew starting him would bring extra energy... and this team needs to play with more energy!

I thought KJ played with great poise! He was energized but for the most part in control from playing too sped up.

This team needs a spark! I'm trying to stay hopeful because dropping a bunch of games now would create a disaster. Hopefully Remy will be back soon and Bobby can get comfortable.

For now, I expect Self will keep rotating at the 5 because it gives some motivation for those guys to earn minutes.

Not a good comparison... Frank and Devonte versus Remy. F and D had no good backups. If they had, they would have played much less. You could see the wear and tear on those guys as the year progressed and I seriously doubt Remy's physique can go that long in the Big 12 without even more injuries.

Beyond that... Self looks for flow on the court. He'll keep guys out there usually when the flow is good. He will also pull guys that clearly need a blow.

I believe our issues are much deeper than whether Remy puts in 30 or 35 minutes.

Now that Bobby is back... he will have to get some minutes. He needs that for future seasoning. Listen to Self... Bobby is the future at KU!

I'm a fan of Remy. A big part is his cheerleading ability out on the floor. We need energy and emotion. Anything to help our guys play with enthusiasm.

But I'm not sure how he fits. Essentially, he is a freshman in Lawrence. He's stepping on a team where guys have been here for a while. I don't think his game has meshed with the rest of the team yet. Players have to figure out other players. The transition hasn't been smooth... plus his health is in question.

Right now our team is a hodge podge. Who is our PG and can he run the team? We need our offense to flow. I'm not seeing that happen with our starting 5, let alone, when we start substituting. Obviously... seeing Self jiggle the lineup so much indicates he's searching for flow. It isn't just about a player coming in and getting some points.

Where we are is frustrating. We have enough talent on this team to become a solid contender... but we play like a November team. We better keep our fingers crossed in hopes we don't hit some bad luck, like injuries come on. Our current margin for victory is razor-thin. We are capable of losing to every team in our league. Hate to say this... but with a little bad luck we could face the worst results since Self arrived here.

We had some crude play in recent years and Self turned to defense to save us. We appropriately named it "bad ball" because of the ugliness of games. I don't see this team being capable of defending enough for us to sweat through league games and come out on top.

Unless we show an evolutionary breakthrough soon... I remain pessimistic about our chances this year.

I really like this team! Maybe someone needs to spike the water jug with testosterone (joke). Anything to bring out some alpha in all our guys.

Did anything more come from the Zion family payment from Duke?

@tis4tim

It feels like we are in a state that legalized recreational pot and then years later we go to trial on a possessions charge in that state.

I just found this... https://www.kansascity.com/sports/college/big-12/university-of-kansas/article256735322.html ↗

Bobby has minutes awaiting him if he gets healthy. If.

Self has already indicated he will be one of our next great guards. So it would be a huge mistake to bench him throughout this year and basically waste a year for him to season with experience. Bobby has monster upside!

@BeddieKU23 said in Red Raiders:

Ochai has 8 fouls in 2 conference games which is unacceptable. In his previous 7 games he had only committed 9 fouls. He’s gotta clean that up and stay on the floor.

His fouling is a definite indicator of how he's getting beat on defense. He is very much getting beat on defense. For a guy with his athleticism, he simply shouldn't be getting beat like he does. He's been beat every which way, from falling asleep on backdoor alleyoops, to getting beat off the dribble, and definitely on switches.

I hope he isn't thinking he just needs to save his body for the draft. Right now... these are the games which will largely impact his draft position. Going up a few notches translates into millions and getting out of the blocks right so having a big time NBA career is more likely.

My rant about not playing with urgency has now been translated by Self with "uncertainty of effort."

I've mentioned not having a definite floor general, regardless... this team will be fueled by Och's play. Just because he leads the team in scoring versus TT does not indicate how he lacked urgency in his play. He should be dominating games and when and if he will... just watch Braun. He'll shadow Och's numbers because teams don't know what to do with two prolific scorers. Braun just needs to be surrounded by enthusiastic players... and he is quite capable of showing enthusiasm himself!

The big plus out of this game is seeing Wilson somewhat return to form. I'm thinking he has earned a starting spot again and will probably become one of our more consistent players. When his shot doesn't fall, he'll just go hustle up more rebounds. He is our junkyard dog player and every team needs one of those.

Our guys got a wake-up call in this TT game about how they are going to need to turn it up to win league games. If they don't... we could see a horrific year. The worst in the Self era.

The only thing that stopped us from going 0-2 was OSU's terrible performance.

I've said all that but I still feel good about our year ahead. Still feeling like this team will come together. As I said earlier... we may end up 2nd or 3rd in the league, but stand a good chance of putting together a late run.

I'd like to see guys play together on both ends of the court. On offense.. no one is doing anything for anyone. It's every man for himself and they are starting to look like some of our old teams that would just perch on the trey line and pass the ball fast enough to get a shot off in the seam. These guys should be setting off-ball screens like crazy to free each other up. Pick and pops, too.

@BeddieKU23 said in Red Raiders:

This team isn’t getting better and the break in December may have disrupted everything that was built. They need to play at home and get back to themselves

Here is where I am disappointed. I expected this team full of experience to come together over Xmas break. As you mentioned... it seems like they went the other way. I am curious what happened over Xmas.